Samsung DVD-VR330 user reviews

Pros Quality build, nice appearance, good controls & menus

Cons Audio and video do not sync on recorded discs

Summary Man, I loved this machine. It hooks up beautifully to a home theater system (everything connecting via Component video - even the VCR side!), seemed to be of a very high build quality.

Not sure what others are talking about regarding disc compatibility and slow load times for discs and so forth. No problems there.

The only problem, and sadly the deal-breaking one, is that on the discs it produces, regardless of the source, the audio and video are often not synced up. It's close, but during dialogue, it becomes painfully obvious. I say painfully because I really wanted to keep this machine - I changed all the outputs, hoping one would have the audio and video playing together correctly, but no good. I then played it on my laptop and saw the same problem, so I knew it was with the disc itself. Drat.

I returned this one and went with a Panasonic DMR-ES35VS, which is actually pretty good, though the build quality and some other features are nicer on this Samsung.

Everything just right except for the outputted discs. So frustrating

I noticed someone on Circuit City's site had the same problem with audio and video syncing up, so it's not an isolated incident, or I would've tried another one...

Pros Great recording quality, fast startup, easy to work with, has progressive scan

Cons No HTMI output, some macroblocking issues.

Summary This seems to be a great little machine for me,especially when recording movies or dubbing from its VCR,or vice versa.Also On the front It has a IEEE 1394 DV{firewire] input plus audio/video input jacks for camcorders.It is multiformat so it works with DVD, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL and DVD+RW discs,and VHS tapes
I have played back many of my pre-recorded movies i bought and it works great with them too.I first tried recording with this one using SP.[Standard Play]. The movie played back just like the original I just watched. Then i tried it on LP[4hrs]. Hey i was suprised how clear this was!Hardly any difference between the two.The only program i havent recorded clear yet was a football game, Which was a macroblocking problem. This is a common problem now days with DVD recorders.
Overall this unit does about everything i could expect.

Pros Plays my dual layer PC made DVDs, controls my Sony Camcorder with DV input, controls my Samsung TV.

Cons None that I have found yet. for my use.

Summary I tried Sony and Panasonic recording combos before getting this. The Sony wouldn't read my PC made dual-layer DVD+R DLs and the DV input was flakey, the Panasonic required closing out layer 1 before you could record on layer 2. That defeats the DL record capability for me. And it had no coaxial digital audio output.(it did have HDMI which I can't use as my TV only has one HDMI input. As noted in the cons, my particular needs were met. And the price was OK.

Pros Dual Layer + or - , high level of controllability, reliable recording to disk, no tuner copy protection problems.

Cons Finalized discs cannot be used on any other machine

Summary . . . unless, its a Samsung which happens to have closely a related chipset and playback sub-board. After finalizing, disc not recognized in JVC or Lite-On player, can't get past the menu on a Philips, and gets stuck in-between chapters/titles on a Sony. Won't work on Pioneer computer DVD burner, or on a friends older home theater Samsung player either. Recordings work great in the Samsung that make it, but if it doesn't workin in anything else, what use is that? You can't even archive any material because once the Samsung is replaced in the future, you can't access your recordings.
Not smart !!